Sow the seed at the rate of two tablespoonfuls to the square rod. It can best be uniformly distributed over the bed by mixing with wood-ashes or land plaster, dividing it into two equal parts, and sowing half of it over the bed crosswise and the other half lengthwise. All weeds and grass should be removed. It is seldom necessary to water the plant-beds, except in the case of unusually dry weather. Water at this time is very essential. It should be applied as in the northern seed-beds, but less frequently, it being seldom necessary to water the beds more than twice a week.
Care must be used to wet the seed-bed thoroughly before drawing the plants, thus protecting the roots from injury. The mottled or mosaic tobacco, so common in Maryland tobacco-fields, is frequently due to the practice of drawing the plants when the soil is not thoroughly moistened. The plants should be set in the field in rows three and one-half feet apart and the plants twenty to thirty-five inches apart in the row.
Tobacco should be preceded by a leguminous crop of some kind, hairy vetch being highly recommended for this purpose. In addition to the nitrogen from the leguminous crop, a fertilizer rich in potash and containing a moderate amount of phosphoric acid should be added before trans planting. The best stand is secured in the field when the land has been plowed deeply and harrowed several times, thus leaving a thoroughly pulverized soil for the reception of the plants. The method of cultivation, topping, suckering, and harvesting are essentially the same as in thr: case of the Connecticut Havana variety.
Nfirth Carolina. TC7i lICSSCC and Virginia tobaccos.
The methods of sowing the seed and of preparing and caring for the seed-bed are the same in the case of the North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia tobaccos as those used by the Maryland growers. The seed, however, may be sown at least a month earlier than in Maryland.
Two systems of harvesting are in general use, both of which have certain advantages. One of these systems is to prime the leaves as fast as they ripen and string them on laths, allowing thirty to thirty-two leaves to the lath. The other and more common system is to cut the entire stalk and cure the leaves on it, as is done with the Connecticut Havana variety.
The North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia tobaccos are usually flue-cured or fire -cured, for which purpose a special type of barn is used. The essential points of this barn are that it be practically air-tight and provided with one or two furnaces having flues leading up through the center of the barn, giving a large heating surface. There
should be at least two small ventilators on or near the top of the barn.
As soon as the barn is filled with tobacco, fires should be started and the temperature raised to 90' Fahr., where it should remain for twenty-four to thirty hours, during which time the tobacco becomes a uniformly bright yellow. Then the temperature is raised from 90° to 120° Fahr., for fifteen to twenty hours. This process is commonly known as "fixing the color." The temperature may then be increased gradually to 125° Fahr., at which point it should be maintained for about forty-eight hours. By this time the leaves should be almost, if not entirely yellow, but the stalk will still be green. In order to cure the stalk, the temperature can be raised to 175° Fahr., at the rate of five degrees an hour, where it should remain until the stalks are thoroughly dried. Great care should be taken during the entire process of curing not to allow the temperature to fall, for a lowering of the temperature during the process of curing invari ably produces discoloration in some parts of the leaf.
White Burley tobacco.
The seed-bed should have a slightly southern exposure, in order to get the benefit of the warm rays of the sun in the early spring, and the beds should be protected from cold winds. The best soil for the White Burley tobacco is a rich, friable, virgin loam or sandy soil. The best method is to burn and prepare the seed-bed on old sod-lands. Many farmers select a spot in a vegetable-garden and cover it with virgin mold taken from the woods, and sow- it, after thoroughly burning the land until it has a reddish or brick-like appearance, when it should be spaded up and thoroughly chopped over with hoes until it is fine and even. The ashes should not be raked off, but should be thoroughly mixed in with the soil. As soon as the ground can be worked in the spring, it should be lightly spaded and thoroughly loosened to a depth of two or three inches with harrows or hand-rakes. When in good condition, it should be marked off in beds about four or five feet wide and seeded. It is the usual custom with this variety to use a heaping tablespoonful of seed for every 100 square yards of seed-bed. After sowing, the best practice is to run a heavy hand roller over the bed or press it with a board or with the feet. As a rule, the bed is tramped over with the feet until the surface is packed. The seed-bed is usually protected by a canvas covering to prevent the ravages of flea-beetles and to keep it moist and warm.